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he had an oracle from God. And it is acknowledged that circumcision then existed by God's command, but it was ordained then as a type, as we will show later about this as we proceed in order. Therefore, the children of Abraham himself in succession continued to be circumcised and to devote themselves to piety—I mean from him and in order, Isaac and Jacob and his children—both in the land of Canaan, called Judea and Philistia then, but now called Palestine, and also in Egypt. For Jacob, also called Israel, went down to Egypt with his eleven sons, being in the one hundred and thirtieth year of his life. But Joseph, his other son, was already a ruler in Egypt, having been sold by his brothers out of envy. But the economy of God, working good things for the righteous man, turned the plot against this same Joseph into a marvel. Therefore, as I said before, Jacob went down to Egypt, and his sons and wives and descendants, numbering seventy-five souls, as the first book 1.190 of the Pentateuch according to Moses contains, which clearly declares all these things. And they continued there for five generations, as I have also often said, but now I have felt the need to repeat these things. For the generations remained, counted from Jacob through Levi, from whom the priests were established, and through Judah, from whom after a time King David ruled. And Levi begot Kohath and the others, Kohath begot Amram, Amram begot Moses and Aaron the high priest. This Moses leads the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt by the power of God, as the second book according to the law holds. 5. What, however, was the manner of life of the sons of Israel up to this time, it is not possible to state very clearly in the most manifest way, except only that they existed in piety and circumcision; even if it is written that "the sons of Israel multiplied in the land of Egypt and became common." For surely, I suppose, the time of their sojourning and intermingling produced this commonness through negligence. What things, however, to taste or what to forbid, or all the other things they were commanded to observe according to the distinction of the law, was not yet signified in the most manifest way. But as they were going out of the land of Egypt, in the second year of their exodus, they are deemed worthy of God's legislation through the hand of Moses himself. And the legislation given to them from God, in the manner of a tutor, as the law was also a tutor, while distinguishing things physically, but having a spiritual expectation, taught them to be circumcised, to keep the sabbath, to tithe all their produce and whatever was born among them from man to beast, to give firstfruits and the fiftieth and the thirtieth, and to know God alone and to worship Him. In monarchy, therefore, the name was proclaimed, but in the monarchy the trinity was always announced and believed among their most eminent, that is, prophets and sanctified men. And they offered various sacrifices and services to the all-king 1.191 God in the desert in the worship of the holy tabernacle, which was constructed by Moses according to types shown to him by God. At any rate, these same Jews received prophetic voices concerning the coming Christ, who was said to be a prophet but was God, and was called an angel but was the Son of God, who was about to become man and be counted among his brethren, as all the divine scriptures hold, especially the fifth book of Deuteronomy according to the law, and those that follow. 6. And these Jews had, until the return from the Babylonian captivity, these books and prophets, and these books of the prophets: first Genesis, second Exodus, third Leviticus, fourth Numbers, fifth Deuteronomy

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θεοῦ εἶχεν θέσπισμα. καὶ ὡμολόγηται μὲν ὅτι ἐκ προστάγματος θεοῦ ἡ περιτομὴ τότε ὑπῆρχεν, τύπῳ δὲ ἦν αὕτη διατεταγμένη τότε, ὡς κατὰ ἀκολουθίαν προβαίνοντες ὕστερον περὶ τούτου δείξομεν. διήρκεσαν τοίνυν περιτεμνόμενοι καὶ θεοσεβείᾳ προσανέχοντες οἱ αὐτοῦ τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ κατὰ διαδοχὴν παῖδες, ἀπ' αὐτοῦ φημι καὶ καθεξῆς Ἰσαὰκ καὶ Ἰακὼβ καὶ οἱ τούτου παῖδες, ἔν τε τῇ Χανανίτιδι γῇ, Ἰουδαίᾳ καὶ Φυλιστιεὶμ οὕτως κληθείσῃ τότε, τανῦν δὲ Παλαιστίνῃ καλουμένῃ, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ. Ἰακὼβ γὰρ ὁ καὶ Ἰσραὴλ κάτεισιν ἅμα τοῖς ἕνδεκα αὐτοῦπαισὶν εἰς Αἴγυπτον, ἔτος κατάγων ἑκατοστὸν τριακοστὸν τῆς αὐτοῦ ζωῆς. Ἰωσὴφ δὲ ὁ ἕτερος αὐτοῦ υἱὸς ἤδη ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ προϋπῆρχεν βασιλεύων, πραθεὶς ὑπὸ τῶν ἀδελφῶν αὐτοῦ διὰ φθόνον. ἡ δὲ τοῦ θεοῦ οἰκονομία τὰ ἀγαθὰ συνεργοῦσα τῷ δικαίῳ, εἰς θαυμασμὸν μετήγαγεν τὴν κατὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ Ἰωσὴφ ἐπιβουλήν. κάτεισι τοίνυν ὡς προεῖπον ὁ Ἰακὼβ εἰς Αἴγυπτον καὶ οἱ αὐτοῦ υἱοὶ καὶ γυναῖκες καὶ ἔκγονοι ἐν ἑβδομήκοντα πέντε ψυχαῖς ἀριθμηθέντες, ὡς περιέχει 1.190 ἡ πρώτη βίβλος τῆς κατὰ τὸν Μωυσέα πεντατεύχου, περὶ τούτων πάντων σαφῶς δηλοῦσα. διετέλεσαν δὲ ἐκεῖσε ἐπὶ πέντε γενεαῖς, ὡς καὶ πολλάκις εἶπον, νῦν δὲ ἀνάγκην ἔσχον ταῦτα δευτερῶσαι. ἔμειναν γὰρ ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἰακὼβ αἱ γενεαὶ ἀριθμούμεναι διὰ τοῦ Λευί, ἐξ οὗπερ οἱ ἱερεῖς κατέστησαν, καὶ διὰ τοῦ Ἰούδα, ἐξ οὗ μετὰ χρόνον ὁ βασιλεὺς ἦρξε ∆αυίδ. καὶ ὁ μὲν Λευὶ γεννᾷ τὸν Καὰθ καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους, Καὰθ γεννᾷ τὸν Ἀμράμ, Ἀμρὰμ γεννᾷ τὸν Μωυσέα καὶ Ἀαρὼν τὸν ἀρχιερέα. οὗτος ὁ Μωυσῆς ἐκβάλλει τοὺς υἱοὺς Ἰσραὴλ ἐν δυνάμει θεοῦ ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου, ὡς ἔχει ἡ δευτέρα βίβλος κατὰ τὴν νομοθεσίαν. 5. Τίς μέντοι γε ἦν ἡ τῶν υἱῶν Ἰσραὴλ πολιτεία ἄχρι τούτου τοῦ χρόνου, οὐ πάνυ σαφῶς κατὰ τὸ φανερώτατον ἔστιν εἰπεῖν ἢ μόνον ὅτι ἐν θεοσεβείᾳ καὶ περιτομῇ ὑπῆρχον· εἰ καὶ γέγραπται ὅτι «ἐπληθύνθησαν οἱ υἱοὶ Ἰσραὴλ ἐν γῇ Αἰγύπτῳ καὶ χυδαῖοι ἐγένοντο». πάντως γάρ που ὁ χρόνος τῆς αὐτῶν παροικίας καὶ ἐπιμιξίας διὰ ῥᾳθυμίαν τὸ χυδαῖον εἰργάσατο. τίνων μέντοι γεύεσθαι ἢ τίνα ἀπαγορεύειν ἢ τἆλλα ὅσα κατὰ διαστολὴν τοῦ νόμου φυλάττειν προσετάχθησαν, οὔπω κατὰ τὸ φανερώτατον ἐπεσημήνατο. ἐξιόντων δὲ ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου ἐν τῷ δευτέρῳ ἔτει τῆς αὐτῶν ἐξόδου νομοθεσίας θεοῦ καταξιοῦνται διὰ χειρὸς αὐτοῦ τοῦ Μωυσέως. ἡ δὲ νομοθεσία ἡ ἐκ θεοῦ αὐτοῖς δοθεῖσα παιδαγωγοῦ δίκην ὡς καὶ παιδαγωγὸς ἦν ὁ νόμος σωματικῶς μὲν διαστελλόμενος, πνευματικὴν δὲ ἔχων τὴν προσδοκίαν ἐδίδαξε περιτέμνεσθαι σαββατίζειν ἀποδεκατοῦν πάντα τὰ αὐτῶν γεννήματα καὶ ὅσαπερ παρ' αὐτοῖς ἐτίκτετο ἀπὸ ἀνθρώπου ἕως κτήνους, ἀπαρχάς τε διδόναι καὶ πεντηκοστὴν καὶ τριακοστήν, εἰδέναι δὲ θεὸν μόνον καὶ αὐτῷ λατρεύειν. ἐν μοναρχίᾳ μὲν οὖν ἦν κηρυττόμενον τὸ ὄνομα, ἐν δὲ τῇ μοναρχίᾳ ἡ τριὰς ἀεὶ κατηγγέλλετο καὶ ἐπιστεύετο παρὰ τοῖς ἐξοχωτάτοις αὐτῶν, τουτέστιν προφήταις καὶ ἡγιασμένοις. θυσίας τε καὶ λατρείας διαφόρους τῷ παμβασιλεῖ 1.191 θεῷ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ προσέφερον ἐν τῇ λατρείᾳ τῆς σκηνῆς τῆς ἁγίας ὑπὸ Μωυσέως διὰ τύπων δηλωθέντων αὐτῷ ὑπὸ θεοῦ κατασκευασθείσης. ἐδέξαντο γοῦν οἱ αὐτοὶ Ἰουδαῖοι καὶ προφητικὰς φωνὰς περὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐρχομένου, λεγομένου μὲν προφήτου ὄντος δὲ θεοῦ καὶ ἀγγέλου μὲν κληθέντος υἱοῦ δὲ ὄντος θεοῦ, μέλλοντος δὲ ἐνανθρωπήσειν καὶ ἐν ἀδελφοῖς αὐτοῦ ἐγκαταλέγεσθαι, ὡς ἔχουσι πᾶσαι αἱ θεῖαι γραφαί, μάλιστα ἡ τοῦ ∆ευτερονομίου κατὰ τὴν νομοθεσίαν πέμπτη βίβλος καὶ αἱ καθεξῆς. 6. Ἔσχον δὲ οὗτοι οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι ἄχρι τῆς ἀπὸ Βαβυλῶνος τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας ἐπανόδου βίβλους τε καὶ προφήτας τούτους καὶ προφητῶν βίβλους ταύτας· πρώτην μὲν Γένεσιν δευτέραν Ἔξοδον τρίτην Λευιτικὸν τετάρτην Ἀριθμοὺς πέμπτην ∆ευτερονόμιον